Definition of Polarization

What does the term "polarization" mean? What is meant by the term "polarization"?

"Polarization", in the world of politics, occurs when public opinion goes to two extremes, and there is no real middle ground or moderates.

For instance, the United States is very polarized when it comes to politics. You have two parties - the Republicans and the Democrats, and there is basically no common ground between the two of them. Conservatives have seemingly pushed even more to the "right" over the past few decades, while liberals have seemingly moved even further to the left. The two sides disagree vehemently on practically every major subject, from the economy to managing the debt to military spending to abortion. Centrists have become relatively rare in the United States as the country has become increasingly polarized.

Factions within an individual political party can also become polarized as well. For instance, there are some politicians in the Democratic party who advocate a more centrist approach, while there are others who are far, far left. The same thing with the Republican party - there are your Republican politicians who are far right, while there are others who tend to drift more towards the middle.

It is human nature that people tend to argue more ferociously if they verbalize a position. This leads to increased polarization, as people tend to not switch or even reconsider their positions, due to not wanting to look as though they are "weak" and prone to flip-flopping.